Crustacea

Deep Sea Shrimp Pandalus borealisKinguppak

The large red shrimp are beautiful as they migrate from below 400 meters to the surface waters every night to feed. Deep-sea shrimp are found in the cold parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The deep-sea shrimp live at depths of about 10 to 500 meters (33-1,600 feet) below the sea surface. They are usually found in soft mud on the bottom of the seafloor.

The deep-sea shrimp are able to detect food falling to the seafloor. This is possible by their chordotonal (receptors) organs. Once the prey touches the seafloor it creates vibrations that clue the shrimp of the new food source. Otherwise the deep-sea shrimp waits until the sun sets to migrate to the top of the sea to feast on microscopic plants that grow in the sunlit surface waters.

The lifespan of a deep sea shrimp is around 3 to 4 years long. They usually grow to be 120 mm (4.7 in).

The deep-sea shrimp are very unique. They are hermaphroditic. To start their lives they are male and after two years their testicles turn into ovaries and finish their life as females.

They are an important food resource and have been widely fished since the 1900s.

The deep-sea shrimp are very important to the marine food chain. They feed on plankton and sea-bed invertebrates but are devoured by cod, redfish, silver and white hake. They are also heavily eaten by humans!

Shrimp have many nutritional values. They are a great source of vitamin D. They are also rich in protein, trace mineral selenium, and vitamin B12.